{"id":20359,"date":"2026-05-10T06:25:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:25:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/20359\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T06:25:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T06:25:19","slug":"hansi-flicks-biggest-tactical-headache-ahead-of-real-madrid-showdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/20359\/","title":{"rendered":"Hansi Flick\u2019s biggest tactical headache ahead of Real Madrid showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As Barcelona prepare for <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/how-barcelona-can-still-become-la-liga-champions-if-real-madrid-win-el-clasico\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">one of the most important El Cl\u00e1sicos<\/a> in recent years, Hansi Flick is facing one major tactical dilemma \u2013 how to stop an in-form Vin\u00edcius J\u00fanior.<\/p>\n<p>The Brazilian forward arrives into the clash in strong form after scoring four goals in his last three matches.<\/p>\n<p>Within Barcelona\u2019s coaching staff, there is a clear understanding that limiting Vinicius could dramatically reduce Madrid\u2019s danger in attack.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Because of that, Flick must analyse which player should take responsibility for containing the winger during the title-deciding showdown at Spotify Camp Nou.<\/p>\n<p>Flick\u2019s three options<\/p>\n<p>As such, the manager currently has three serious options in mind, namely, Jules Kounde, Eric Garcia, and club captain Ronald Araujo.<\/p>\n<p>Araujo has historically been Barcelona\u2019s preferred solution against Vinicius in major Cl\u00e1sicos.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even during periods where the Uruguayan regularly played centrally, previous managers often moved him to right-back specifically to deal with the Brazilian\u2019s pace and direct running.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"732\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/fc-barcelona-v-real-madrid-spanish-super-cup-2-1024x732.jpg\" alt=\"Vinicius Jr., Real Madrid player\" class=\"wp-image-199130\"  \/>Kounde is likely to start against Real Madrid. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p>However, the situation appears different this time because Kounde has generally been Flick\u2019s first-choice option at right-back and remains the favourite to start there again despite an inconsistent campaign by his standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The French defender\u2019s physical strength, recovery pace, and experience in one-on-one situations are seen as important qualities against Vinicius.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, Eric Garcia\u2019s recent performances have complicated the decision for Flick.<\/p>\n<p>The Spanish defender featured on the right side against Osasuna while Kounde served a suspension, and reports suggest the coaching staff were satisfied with his display.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What already appears almost certain is that Eric Garcia will start the Clasico, although the remaining question is whether Flick uses him at right-back or alongside Pau Cubarsi in central defence.<\/p>\n<p>If Garcia moves into the middle, Barcelona would likely have to break up a <a href=\"https:\/\/barcauniversal.com\/the-numbers-behind-barcelonas-unbeaten-centre-back-pairing-in-la-liga-this-season\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">defensive partnership between Cubarsi and Gerard Martin<\/a> that has become increasingly stable in recent weeks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That factor could ultimately push Flick towards keeping Kounde on the right side to neutralise Vinicius.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Barcelona prepare for one of the most important El Cl\u00e1sicos in recent years, Hansi Flick is facing&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[92,222,927,223,930,548,82,83,929,2120],"class_list":{"0":"post-20359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-madrid","8":"tag-barcelona","9":"tag-barcelona-news","10":"tag-eric-garcia","11":"tag-fc-barcelona","12":"tag-hansi-flick","13":"tag-jules-kounde","14":"tag-madrid","15":"tag-real-madrid","16":"tag-ronald-araujo","17":"tag-vinicius-jr"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}